Chapter Fifty-Nine [Unconventional Moves?]
The next morning, Luo Qing came out of the teahouse, having arranged to meet a contractor. Taking advantage of the fact that the contractor had not yet returned to his hometown for the New Year, he asked him to bring some workers to Luoyun House to assess the situation and estimate the cost of rebuilding the western wing and the main hall.
After having morning tea at home and driving all the way to the commercial district, Luo Qing parked his car and walked to Luoyun House. From a distance, he could see the contractor and his team standing at the shop’s entrance.
Luo Qing walked over unsteadily and greeted them, then unlocked and opened the door, leading the contractor’s people through the shop to the backyard.
"The western wing of the third courtyard has collapsed, and half of the main hall as well. Can you help me estimate the cost of the repairs?"
As he was speaking, they reached the third courtyard, and Luo Qing suddenly fell silent.
The contractor behind him stared at this "backyard" with wide eyes, then looked at Boss Luo in confusion.
"Um... Boss Luo, did you misspeak earlier? This isn’t about repairing; it’s about complete reconstruction, right?"
At that moment, before Luo Qing, in his own third courtyard of Luoyun House...
Except for the courtyard walls which were still intact, the western wing that had originally collapsed remained the same.
The eastern wing had been completely leveled, turning into a heap of broken bricks and tiles.
As for the main hall... where only half of it had collapsed before, now the roof and walls were gone, with just a few stubborn pillars still standing there.
"President Luo, this is no small job; the price we talked about before won’t cover it."
"President Luo, these houses are traditional replicas belonging to the street. If you want to rebuild, do you have the street’s approval?"
"And President Luo, if these are street houses, I’ll need a permit to enter the site for repairs. Otherwise, I’m afraid we’ll be checked..."
"By the way, President Luo, the style of the renovated houses would need to match the surrounding buildings, I’ve heard there are official regulations for these houses..."
"Hey! President Luo! What’s wrong with you, President Luo?"
The contractor was babbling on when he suddenly saw Luo Qing stiffly collapsing to the ground.
He hurriedly went to check and saw Uncle Qing lying on the ground, pale-faced, with trembling lips muttering something.
He leaned in closer and understood:
"My money... my money... my money..."
Chen Yan was having breakfast with Young Lady Gu.
Soy milk + vegetable buns.
The vegetable buns here were excellent, filled with greens and wood ear mushrooms, mixed with sesame oil, bursting with flavor in every bite.
Gu Qingyi just had a cup of soy milk but ate eight buns the size of a fist in one go.
Chen Yan watched in dismay.
"Would you like to take a few more to go? They’ll make for a good lunch," Gu Qingyi suggested, wiping her mouth and looking somewhat embarrassed at Chen Yan.
Buy them, buy them, just a few buns—supporting elders, traditional virtue.
"By the way, I almost forgot to ask, last night when you demolished that house, you seemed quite adept at it. Have you done this kind of thing before?"
On the way, Chen Yan asked casually as he carried a large bag of buns, walking side by side with Gu Qingyi.
Gu Qingyi looked into the distance again, seemingly not hearing him.
Chen Yan didn’t think much of it, directly sent two photos to Boss Fang over WeChat—the after shots of Luoyun House’s backyard being leveled.
He didn’t hit anyone, but the house was razed, probably giving Luo Qing a significant Primordial Qi loss?
Sure enough, moments later, President Fang replied with a thumbs-up emoji.
Returning to the villa district and walking home, as they approached the villa gate, they saw a truck with "Happy Moving" written on its side parked at the entrance to another villa in the distance.
A few uniformed movers were busy carrying furniture out from the gate.
"The neighbors next door are moving out," Chen Yan glanced over, "The feng shui here is pretty good, why are they moving out?"
Gu Qingyi looked over and suddenly said, "You mentioned that your current house is rented, right? Now that the neighbors are moving out, why don’t you check if you can buy it?"
"No money!" Chen Yan shook his head.
He only had a few hundred thousand cash on hand.
Hmm... but the gold and the jewelry in Port City’s safe, those could be considered for liquidating.
A million worth of gold doesn’t look like much.
But those gems are worth a lot; Chen Yan didn’t understand at the time, but after studying Artifact Identification Chapter from the booklet, he realized their value.
In the safe left by the old lady, the most valuable things were not those gold bars.
Based on his memory, Chen Yan could vaguely remember the quality and luster of those gems, which were quite good.
And... perhaps he might find a precious item like a ring?
Speaking of which, Chen Yan also asked Young Lady Gu for help with the ring.
Her response was direct: "I can’t figure it out, don’t understand."
Well, she’s into combat techniques, after all.
Even a seafood vendor once said, martial artists are the most uncouth.
Back at home, Chen Yan meditated and transported Primordial Qi, while Gu Qingyi moved a chair to sunbathe in the courtyard.
After practicing the Primordial Qi Transport Technique several times, it was already afternoon.
At noon, Young Lady Gu considerately did not disturb the practicing Chen Yan and instead gnawed on a few buns herself—she had learned to use the gas stove, reheating the buns in a steamer.